`We Thought It Was Time For A Change'

So Old Name Becomes The New Name At Comed

Woe be to the politician who suffers from poor name recognition, for he shall dwell in that wretched house of the unknown forever more.

So sayeth the folks who are paid millions to run political campaigns and clog the airwaves with names and slogans and messages, all in fervent hope that people will simply remember come election day.

Now comes Commonwealth Edison Co., known for decades by millions as ComEd, boldly announcing Wednesday that it is changing its name-to ComEd.

This is not some tricky maneuver that transforms an International Harvester to Navistar or Burroughs and Sperry Corps. to UNISYS. Nor are there mild mental gymnastics involved that produce creatures such as AT&T, NBD, CBS and a truckload of other corporate acronyms.

This is making chicken salad out of chicken salad. Nothing to remember here, as if people would ever forget.

ComEd is the utility's equivalent of the perpetual campaign, arriving at your home every month, year in and year out.

ComEd is what it has always been, ComEd. So what's going on here?

"We thought it was time for a change," said ComEd spokesman Art Massa. "As the competition continues to mature, we need a strong visual presence.

"The new ID is bold and strong and shows customers that we'll continue to serve them even in a competitive situation."

The company's legal name remains Commonwealth Edison Co., to which customers will still make out their monthly payments.

This move comes a few weeks after ComEd's parent company renamed itself Unicom Corp., a name that suggests it could make anything from unicycles to commodes.